COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenseman Brendan Bell and forward Tomas Kana from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Pascal Pelletier, General Manager Scott Howson announced December 8. Bell and Kana have been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch, the club's American Hockey League affiliate.

Bell, 26, has collected seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points and 51 penalty minutes in 101 career NHL games with Toronto, Phoenix and Ottawa. In 2008-09, he registered career highs in goals, assists, points and games played with 6-15-21 and 24 penalty minutes in 53 games with the Senators. This season, he has collected 4-13-17 and 26 penalty minutes in 22 games with the Peoria Rivermen, St. Louis' AHL affiliate.

Toronto's third pick, 65th overall, in the 2001 Entry Draft, Bell has also registered 36-126-162 and 346 penalty minutes in 325 career AHL games during his seven-year career. Prior to joining the professional ranks, he played four seasons with the Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League from 1999-03, registering 32-139-171 and 195 penalty minutes in 238 career games. He earned OHL and Canadian Hockey League Defenseman of the Year honors in 2002-03.

Kana, 22, was the Blues' third pick, 31st overall, in the 2006 Entry Draft. He has split the past two seasons between the AHL with Peoria and ECHL with the Alaska Aces. He has collected 1-0-1 and 15 penalty minutes in 18 career AHL games, all last season with the Rivermen. He has tallied 8-20-28 and 79 penalty minutes in 53 games with Alaska, including 0-6-6 and 10 penalty minutes in 11 games this season with the Aces.

A native of Opava, Czech Republic, Kana played parts of four seasons with HC Vitkovice Steel and Usti n. L. in the Czech League from 2004-08, registering 19-21-40 and 128 penalty minutes in 112 games. His best season was 2006-07 when he picked up 9-7-16 and 54 penalty minutes in 44 games with HC Vitkovice Steel.

The Blue Jackets return action on Wednesday when they host the Florida Panthers. Game time from Nationwide Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage on FOX Sports Ohio will begin with the Blue Jackets Live pre-game show starting at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on the Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Blue Jackets Radio Network and flagship stations WBNS-AM, Sports Radio 1460 The Fan and WWCD-FM, CD101, and online at BlueJackets.com.

Blue Jackets single game tickets are on sale now at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, The FOX Sports Ohio Blue Line Team Store at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, ticket outlets at the Chiller Ice Rinks and all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers. Fans can also purchase tickets by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at BlueJackets.com and ticketmaster.com. Season tickets starting at $18 per game, as well as six-, 10- and 20-game packages for the 2009-10 season are also on sale. For information, call (800) NHL-COLS or visit BlueJackets.com.